Saqib Mahmood helps reduce Northants to 59 for three, still needing 366 runs on final day

Paul Edwards17-Apr-2021When this morning’s play began Lancashire had a lead of 188 over Northamptonshire and all their second-innings wickets in hand. By the time the long day closed at 7.20pm they had reduced the visitors to 59 for 3 and a victory target of 425 appeared merely fantastical. A good day for the Red Rose, you might think, and you would be correct. Yet much of their batting had been so careless that it might have been designed to have their head coach, Glen Chapple, emulating Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha and hopping about with a hatchet.The one player exempted from Chapple’s ire was Steven Croft, whose unbeaten century will have had Lancashire supporters smiling in shared pleasure. Croft’s love for the county of his birth is undoubted. When he pulled Nathan Buck for six to reach his hundred, thereby prompting a declaration, the home dressing room erupted in noisy acclamation. Croft was hugged by Tom Hartley, his batting partner, and he raised his arms towards his team-mates, some of whom may still have been watching Peppa Pig when he first played for Lancashire.The century had been the product of careful workmanship rather than effortless style. There were pulls to square leg, nudges through the slips and leg glances but only seven fours. The one concession to modernity, albeit Croft has kept his place in Lancashire’s T20 team, was the reverse sweep, which he now plays as easily as Robert Browning once produced rhyming couplets. He could have gone for three early in the morning session had Adam Rossington clung on to a right-handed diving catch but Croft has long been careful to make the most of such opportunities, for he has no clue how many more he might get.Three years ago he thought he would not get another contract with Lancashire but the coaches opted to give him another season, then one more, then another. There was nothing indulgent about these decisions. Although not the five-furlong favourite he once was, Croft can still do a job anywhere in the field and held on to two slip catches as Northants subsided this evening.Related

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Croft played in the side that won the Championship in 2011 and he skippered the team that won the T20 Blast in 2015. He is 37 in October yet it is an offence against nature to think of him as a veteran. Like schoolboys with a favourite master, supporters honour him with a nickname, although ‘Crofty’ is hardly in the class of ‘Rhino’, the name the boys at Thursgood’s gave to Jim Prideaux. This was his first Championship century since 2017 but there have been more than enough valuable innings in the meantime to reassure supporters wondering if a much-loved cricketer might have hung on a season too long.Application and an awareness of responsibility are often made particularly noticeable by their absence elsewhere and Lancashire’s other batsmen probably made Croft’s effort appear a little better than it was. Both openers were dismissed in the first nine deliveries of the morning, Keaton Jennings playing around an inswinger from Ben Sanderson and Alex Davies pushing forward just enough to edge Tom Taylor to Ricardo Vasconcelos at first slip. But the worst was yet to come.Having driven the Northants seamers for three of the pleasantest boundaries we will see this season Josh Bohannon played skew-whiff at a well-flighted off-spinner from Rob Keogh and inside-edged the ball onto his leg stump. Given that he had been presented with a good opportunity to collect a cheeky 80 runs or so, Bohannon’s 22 must have frustrated the coaches. But Lancashire were still well placed on 162 for 3 at lunch. On the resumption sanity left the stadium.In the first over of the afternoon session Dane Vilas played the ball to square leg and called Croft for an absurd single. The daftness of the exercise was plain almost immediately but not soon enough to save Lancashire’s skipper. Two overs later Croft clipped the ball in a similar direction only to see Rob Jones scampering down the wicket as if escaping a lunatic with a sharp knife. Emilio Gay threw the ball to the non-striker’s end and someone noted that five of Lancashire’s last 18 wickets had been lost to run outs. For the only time since last August one was grateful spectators were not present.The rest of the innings was less deranged. Luke Wood and Tom Bailey helped Croft take Northamptonshire’s target beyond that scored by any side in the fourth innings to beat Lancashire and the visitors’ job was made even harder by Saqib Mahmood’s magnificently hostile five-over spell with the new ball from the James Anderson End. The fast bowler beat both Ben Curran and Gay for pace and is clearly well suited to the short burst Vilas gave him. He will be steaming in again in the morning and then Matt Parkinson will send down some leg spin. Northants have form when it comes to foxing the bookies but one cannot like their chances.

Of late, Rohit has picked the corner of ODI cricket he wants to shake up and has gone rogue

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Shiva Jayaraman06-Aug-2024On Wednesday, Rohit Sharma will play his 265th ODI. Ordinarily, this is not a major milestone. But then this is Rohit, who even among the extraordinary players, has found ways to be extraordinary.Eighteen years into his ODI career, though, our guy is set to cross into uncharted territory. Ever since he played his first ODI his stats sheet has always shown a higher number under “high score” than “matches played”. Ten years since setting the kind of record that people credibly contend may never be broken, Rohit is about to go past 264.It is worth remembering and dwelling on the big-scoring Rohit right now. Worth recalling a time when Rohit stans would tell Virat Kohli stans that Rohit held his own at the tippy top of modern India batting.Related

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Though Kohli was the mass-producer of hundreds, “once Rohit gets past 70, there’s almost no stopping him,” was one theory. In ODIs, it was difficult to deny. The man has three double-hundreds, which is three times as many as any other batter, and a quarter of all the 200-plus scores ever made in the format. Of the 31 hundreds he has scored, 16 have produced 130 runs or more.Other batters merely “get in” on a track. Rohit embeds himself inside an opposition attack like the alien from and feeds until he is half the size of the spaceship and they are withering husks.Not lately, though. The more recent Rohit, in ODIs at least, is a highly-skilled DGAF figure – somebody who has seen it all, fought battles in all kinds of games there are to fight battles in, and picked the corner of ODI cricket he wants to shake up. Rohit has become predominantly a powerplay aggressor.The numbers lay this out. Since the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Rohit has batted in 13 ODIs and failed to get a start only in two of them. If you jump in at the 20-ball mark of the other 11, he’s striking at 150-plus (i.e. has more than 30 runs already) in seven of those innings, and at 100-plus in 10, the only exception being in an exceptionally difficult Lucknow pitch in the match against England, at the World Cup.In the ongoing series in Sri Lanka, he has hit 58 off 47, and 64 off 44, on hugely spin-favouring tracks. These are pitches on which strike rates of as low as 80 are acceptable, so long as you make a half-century, as Rohit did on both occasions. But here, Rohit’s starts on both occasions gave the middle order room to breathe while they attempted to hunt down modest scores.India have been bailed out by Rohit Sharma twice against Sri Lanka•AFP/Getty ImagesIn a previous age, Sri Lanka tightened their spin vices so effectively, that the pressure to score at a decent clip itself would produce wickets. In matches in which Rohit has peacocked his way through the early overs so spectacularly, Sri Lanka only had one route to victory – to dismiss the opposition. That they have done so twice is credit to their spinners on extremely dry surfaces.While he is batting this way, it might be more appropriate to think of Rohit Sharma, a producer of some of the most epic ODI innings, as a player who might “come off” for a significant number of deliveries. Since the start of the 2023 World Cup, he has never really tried to play himself in – his control percentage at 79.79 in his first 25 balls in that period, but then improving to only 82.32 in the next 25 balls.According to ESPNcricinfo’s data, Rohit plays more “aggressive false shots” now than ever before, which effectively means the man is happy to play attacking strokes that feel poorly conceived when they don’t come off. There are expansive drives against spinners early on, in which Rohit covers the line of the stumps and swings his bat at. There are safe mis-hits, where the bowler fooled Rohit, but he is still able hit to an area in which there is no protection. And there are shots like his attempted switch-sweep against Jeffrey Vandersay on Sunday, which saw him caught at backward point, and set in motion India’s collapse.And yet, though he has only occasionally middled the ball as emphatically as childhood coaches would love him to, Rohit has discovered the fun of hitting balls just okay. He has understood that hitting them well enough to clear the field means there are runs there too. It feels as if Rohit is in his most pragmatic era.There is little doubt that he wants to continue, wants to contest big tournaments, and wants more silverware in his arms. But Rohit has also stepped into a phase of his career in which he is only one star in the galaxy. And right now, that star wants to reap as many early-overs runs as possible.

Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam will begin the final day with Pakistan needing an improbable 302 to win

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Dec-2020Tim Southee’s 300th Test wicket was the highlight of a quality seam-bowling display that left New Zealand seven wickets away from winning the Mount Maunganui Test. Having declared 20 minutes before tea to leave Pakistan more than four sessions to bat out and an improbable 373 to win, New Zealand used the new ball brilliantly to leave Pakistan three down at stumps.Tim Southee picked up his 300th wicket in his 76th Test match•AFP via Getty ImagesThe older ball did not do a great deal off the surface in terms of sideways movement, though up-and-down bounce was a constant worry at the back of the batsmen’s minds. With that in mind, Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam did well to see off the last 20.1 overs of the day, seeing off testing spells from New Zealand’s pace quartet.With Pakistan’s bowlers having extracted minimal help in the morning, it was clear that the pitch had flattened out significantly and not deteriorated to a great extent. It was crucial for New Zealand to maximise the new ball, but there was little doubt they would, with Southee and Trent Boult in charge of it.They took just 14 balls to dismiss both openers for no score.Watch cricket on ESPN+

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Boult removed Abid Ali with his second ball, getting it to climb disconcertingly from just short of a length, with the pace, the tight line and the left-arm angle leaving the batsman nowhere to go. All he could do from his initial forward press was to fend desperately at the throat-high ball, and glove it through to the keeper.An over later, it was Southee’s turn to celebrate, after sending back Shan Masood by subtler means. Having moved the previous ball back into the left-hander from around the wicket, he bowled a cross-seam delivery that just kept going on straight along its line in the corridor. Never the most extravagant mover of feet, Masood poked at it and edged to first slip.Jamieson pulled up for throwing ball at Faheem

Kyle Jamieson has been fined 25% of his match fee for throwing the ball at Faheem Ashraf “at high speed” during the third day’s action on Monday, breaching Level 1 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which relates to “throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner”, in the process. The incident took place in the 75th over of the Pakistan first innings, with an ICC statement explaining, “Jamieson, after fielding the ball on his follow through, threw it in the direction of Faheem Ashraf at high speed when the batsman was away from the stumps but within the popping crease and not intending to take a run”. Apart from the fine, one demerit point was added to Jamieson’s disciplinary record.

Either side of the tea break, Azhar and Haris Sohail hung on for 15.3 overs against some probing bowling, with the former looking in excellent rhythm as he got his innings going with a pair of confident drives down the ground. The drives, and a clipped two between mid-on and midwicket off Boult in the 12th over of the innings, showed how balanced Azhar was at the crease – a feature of his innings so far, in attack and more so in defence.Haris, however, was less certain, with his lack of footwork keeping the New Zealand bowlers interested. Southee exploited it brilliantly, setting him up with a rising short ball – which he kept down fairly comfortably – and following up with a full, driving-length ball that Haris failed to get his front foot to. Mitchell Santner took a low catch at short extra-cover, and Southee had become the third New Zealander, after Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori, to the 300 mark.New Zealand began their second innings at the start of the day’s play, with much interest surrounding the conditions. Over the 45.3 overs they played before declaring, only the occasional instance of uncertain bounce gave the batsmen cause for worry.Mohammad Abbas looked the most threatening of Pakistan’s bowlers during his new-ball spell, testing the openers’ judgement with tight lines around off stump, and just a hint of seam movement. Slanting the ball across Tom Latham, he produced the only passage of play when ball dominated bat, finding the left-hander’s edge three times in two overs only for the ball to fall short of the slips cordon each time.Tom Blundell and Tom Latham added 111 for the first wicket•Getty ImagesThe openers endured only one other moment of genuine concern thereafter, when Faheem Ashraf got one to scoot through at ankle height and sneak under a drive from Tom Blundell, missing off stump by a matter of inches.Otherwise it was smooth sailing during a first-wicket stand of 111, with Blundell making an impressive comeback into the runs after scores of 14, 14 and 5 in his first three Test innings of the summer. He seemed to get into better positions than during the first innings, with a more pronounced back-and-across trigger helping him break his inertia and get his feet moving.He took a little time settling, with the lack of pace off the pitch causing him to mistime a few of his drives, but after the drinks break he flowed smoothly, looking especially strong on the pull and the cut, and reached his fifty off 87 balls.Latham grew increasingly assured the longer he stayed at the crease, and used the sweep efficiently as always, with Yasir Shah getting little of the sharp turn or bounce that he extracted during the first innings. After six overs in the first session, he wasn’t seen again.Leading by 290 at lunch, New Zealand made a concerted effort to up the ante after the break, with Blundell showing their intent by slogging at Abbas and having his leg stump dislodged. The singles flowed smoothly against deep-set fields, and there were frequent attempts to go hard at the bowling too, particularly when Pakistan switched tack to bowling short. Naseem Shah picked up three wickets in the bargain, a small consolation for an otherwise downbeat day for the visitors.

يرى بيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي أن مواجهة ريال مدريد تحولت إلى ديربي، بعد الصدام الجديد المرتقب بينهما في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وأجريت قرعة محلق دور الـ 16 لـ دوري أبطال أوروبا، ظهر اليوم الجمعة، وأسفرت عن مباراة بين ريال مدريد ومانشستر سيتي.

وقال جوارديولا في تصريحاته خلال المؤتمر الصحفي، والتي نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي”: “يبدو الأمر وكأنه مباراة ديربي بالفعل، أربع سنوات متتالية نواجه فيها ريال مدريد”.

وأضاف: “لكن مواجهة بايرن ميونخ أو ريال مدريد، كلاهما كان صعبًا حقًا، نأمل أن نتمكن من الوصول إلى مباراة الذهاب هنا، ثم في مدريد، بأفضل ما يمكن”.

وحول جدول المباريات المزدحم لـ مانشستر سيتي في فبراير، أفاد: “نبدأ بالفعل بمواجهة في باريس ثم نواجه تشيلسي، لذا فنحن بالفعل أمام عدد كبير من المباريات الصعبة”.

وأكمل: “هذا هو الجدول الزمني للمباريات، في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، يتعين على كل فريق أن يلعب ضد جميع الفرق، ولكن في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز عادة ما يضعون جداول زمنية صعبة للفرق في أوروبا”.

اقرأ أيضًا | مواعيد مباريات مانشستر سيتي في فبراير.. مرموش يواجه ريال مدريد ويصطدم بـ محمد صلاح

وأشار: “يتم وضع جداول زمنية للمباريات الأصعب لأن اللعب ضد ريال مدريد أو بايرن ميونخ أمر صعب، لكن المشكلة تكمن في منتصف الجدول الزمني وهو نيوكاسل”.

وأكمل: “دائمًا ما يكونوا لطفاء للغاية بشأن الجدول الزمني، لسنوات عديدة، يحدث هذا دائمًا بهذه الطريقة”.

وواصل جوارديولا: “هل تسألني هذا السؤال (بشأن جدول المباريات) بعد سنوات عديدة هنا؟، لا تسألني هذا السؤال لأقول شيئًا ثم تعترض”.

واستطرد: “لقد كنت هنا لسنوات عديدة قبلي وكنت دائمًا هكذا، لا أشتكي لأننا حققنا نجاحًا لا يصدق في لعب هذا الجدول”.

وأردف بيب: “لذا ربما يكون السؤال مفاجأة بالنسبة لك ولكنه يحدث دائمًا، كان دائمًا هكذا، نحن نقبله، أنا لا أشتكي لأننا فزنا بالثلاثية وحققنا نجاحًا في القيام بذلك”.

وأكد: “قيل ذلك عدة مرات، في الموسم الماضي، لعبنا ربع النهائي ضد ريال مدريد وبعد ثلاثة أيام لدينا نصف نهائي كأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي في ويمبلي عندما كان بإمكاننا الحصول على يوم آخر، لكننا ننجو”.

وأوضح: “أتذكر عندما كنت في برشلونة وأتابع الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز وأليكس فيرجسون وجوزيه مورينيو وأرسين فينجر يشكون من نفس الشيء، هل تعتقد أنه سيتغير؟،القنوات التي تذيع هي من يقرر، لا يسألون عن الأفضل للفرق”.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has explained the faith he has placed in young players this season.

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Man Utd prioritise youth in summer windowTen Hag hints at financial constraintsDutchman's job hinges on next few gamesGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

In an effort to rejuvenate an ageing and underperforming team, United signed younger players with long-term potential this summer, including Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, and Manuel Ugarte.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ten Hag's job security has been questioned in the past few weeks as United currently sit in the lower half of the Premier League table having won just two of their first five league games. Due to the Red Devils' transfer policy, the Dutchman now has a relatively inexperienced squad to rely on as he looks to the turn their fortunes around. However, Ten Hag has defended United's dealings.

Getty Images SportWHAT TEN HAG SAID

Speaking to the media, Ten Hag said: "Those are the choices we have made in the last two seasons. I understand the impression that many have for Manchester United because the history is so big.

"But those are the choices we have made – and also it has something to do with financials and other restrictions we have to deal with. We made the choice for younger players and you can’t expect them to be at the (top) level.

"We have to improve them and they have to improve themselves and we have to find a team that can be successful on a consistent basis. This team, in the last two years, has shown what they can do with patience. With patience we can win trophies and now we have to get more consistent.

"We are where we are now with this squad. With all the restrictions we had, we have done good work. Now we have to work with the squad and improve. We have a good squad, with young players. We have to improve the team and we have high targets – and we want to achieve those targets for this season and the years beyond."

WHAT NEXT FOR TEN HAG?

The Dutchman's job could hinge on United's next few matches. United will be in action on Sunday when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. Spurs themselves have endured a tricky start, with Ange Postecoglou's young squad suffering two defeats already.

Everton scouts have now reportedly been spotted watching Republic of Ireland international Troy Parrott over the break, as he scored twice to shock Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side.

The Toffees very nearly enjoyed the perfect summer. They welcomed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City and splashed out on one of their biggest-ever deals to sign Tyler Dibling from Southampton. In many ways, it was a statement from The Friedkin Group ahead of Everton’s move into the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

That statement came without one key part, however, and that was a clinical goalscorer. Those in Merseyside took a £27m gamble on Villarreal’s Thierno Barry, but he’s yet to score a goal for the club. Meanwhile, Beto hasn’t done much better – scoring just twice in 13 games in all competitions.

Minutes

386

609

Goals

0

1

Assists

0

0

Expected Goals

1.3

4.1

What’s most concerning about the form of Everton’s strikers is that they’ve both had the chances to record better records than they have done. Barry is without a goal with an XG of 1.3, whilst Beto has significantly underperformed with one goal from a 4.1 XG.

It’s a clear problem that Everton must address for David Moyes in 2026 and a number of targets have already emerged as a result. According to recent reports, the Toffees have so far set their sights on Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who wants to leave the Scottish club, Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney.

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All three options make sense. Maeda wants to leave Celtic and is reportedly available for just £15m. Zirkzee could offer Everton a repeat of their Grealish revival, whilst Toney may need a Premier League return to boost his World Cup chances.

The list doesn’t end there, however. Joining those aforementioned names, Everton reportedly sent scouts to watch Parrot against Portugal earlier this week.

Everton send scouts to track Troy Parrott

According to Everton News, Everton sent scouts to watch Parrott in action for Ireland against Portugal on Thursday night, as he netted a brace to hand his country a major boost towards their World Cup hopes. In the same game, Ronaldo was handed the first red card of his international career to sum up a shocking night to forget.

On a stage which featured Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and others, it was Parrot who stole the show to take his goal total to 13 in 14 games for the season. Quite simply, he has been in sensational form for AZ Alkmaar and Ireland.

Compared to Irish legend Robbie Keane by the man himself, Parrott has scored more goals than Beton and Barry combined so far this season and there’s still plenty more to come.

As Everton’s search for a striker goes on, they may hand the former Tottenham Hotspur gem the perfect chance to complete a return to English football.

Everton hatch striker plan as Moyes moves for star with 18 goals this season

A broken bat, a crazy run out, and a multiple Grand Slam winner. What else makes the list?

Andrew McGlashan24-Oct-2024Meg Lanning (and Ash Barty) on opening dayIt all began at Junction Oval on December 5, 2015. Melbourne Stars faced Brisbane Heat in back-to-back games on the same day in front of a crowd of 1500. Some players watched on sat in camping chairs. A number of names that remain stars of Australian cricket were on show: Beth Mooney opened alongside Grace Harris for Heat, who had Jess Jonassen at No. 3, while Meg Lanning made 165 off 114 balls across the two matches as Stars came out winners in both. However, in the middle-order for Heat, there is another name which stood out: Ash Barty. Now a retired multiple Grand Slam winner, at the time Barty was also out of tennis, having stepped away in 2014 aged 18 to play cricket. On the opening day of WBBL, she impressed with 39 off 27 balls in the first match before falling to Nat Sciver-Brunt. “It truly was an amazing period of my life,” she said in 2019. “I met an amazing group of people who couldn’t care less whether I could hit a tennis ball or not. They accepted me, and they got to know Ash Barty.” That opening innings would prove to be the high point for Barty who made 68 runs in nine matches – her major sporting success was yet to come.The first centuryThis won’t be the only time Grace Harris is mentioned in this piece. In the eighth match of the inaugural season, a few months after her international debut, she struck the competition’s first century with 103 off 55 balls against Sydney Sixers at Aquinas College in Perth. She went from her fifty to her hundred in just 22 deliveries. “I was just after ice cream,” Harris joked after the innings. “When I hit the century, Mooney came down the wicket and it didn’t really click to begin with, and then she said that I had made it because everyone was standing up, and I just said, ‘Ice cream! Ice cream!'” To cap off her day, Harris claimed 4 for 15 from two overs. She remains the only player to have scored a century and taken four wickets in a WBBL match.Harmanpreet’s landmark signingIt is well-known that India’s premier male cricketers do not appear in T20 leagues outside of the IPL, but that’s not the case in the women’s game – the upcoming season will see a record number of India names in the WBBL. In mid-2016, Harmanpreet Kaur became the first India player to join the league when she signed for Sydney Thunder. “Being the first player from my country to sign a contract for a BBL club is one of my best moments,” she said at the time. During her first season, she made 310 runs in 13 innings which included a 26-ball 56 against Heat. In the 2021 season, she was Player of the Tournament.Harmanpreet Kaur was the first Indian player to join an overseas league•Getty ImagesPushing the boundariesHere comes Grace again. By 2018, Sophie Devine (48) and Ash Gardner (47) had both gone under the 50-ball mark with centuries. Against Stars at the Gabba, Harris raised the bar further with a blistering 42-ball display which included 13 fours and six sixes. Remarkably, this came in a chase of just 133 as she made 73% of the total herself with Mooney watching on from the other end. With one run needed, Harris was on 95 and set off for the winning run but was sent back by Mooney. Three balls later, she launched Alana King down the ground for six to become the first player with multiple WBBL tons. “I’d told her that we weren’t running again and she finally got there in the end,” Mooney said.Devine’s doubleAs mentioned above, Devine had already left a mark on the WBBL but against Stars at Adelaide Oval, she produced what remains a one-off all-round starrer in the competition’s history: the only time a player has scored a half-century and taken a five-wicket haul. She had been within touching distance of matching Harris with two WBBL hundreds when she fell for 95 with an over to go, but that was only half the job done. With ball in hand, she removed four of Stars’ top six and completed her haul by claiming Nicola Hancock. semi-final run outIt is one of the iconic moments in WBBL history. It had already been a dramatic day with the first semi-final decided by a stunning boundary catch from Haidee Birkett. But the extraordinary three-player run out to force a Super Over in the second match was at another level. With three needed off the last ball, Sophie Molineux, who had batted throughout Melbourne Renegades’ chase, sliced over point and the ball appeared destined for the rope. “She’s got a four,” screamed commentator Jason Richardson. Then came a desperate dive from Erin Burns that flicked the ball back to Sarah Aley, who in turn hurled the return to Alyssa Healy. But the run-out chance was at the bowler’s end. Healy collected and in one motion spun around with a gloveless right hand and threw down the stumps. “In terms of a team play, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more special one in the context of the match and what effect it had on the game,” Ellyse Perry said. Burns added: “It was one of those moments where everything just seemed to fit perfectly. To tap it back but then Sarah to come around and the perfect throw into Midge and then to spin around no look at the stumps and throw down the other end is pretty awesome.”Ellyse Perry celebrates Sophie Molineux’s extraordinary run-out•Getty ImagesMooney, the back-to-back finals heroMooney is the WBBL’s leading run-scorer heading into the tenth season. Before her move to Perth Scorchers, she was central in Heat’s consecutive titles in the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 seasons. In the first of those, a week after the epic semi-final mentioned above, in a season where runs had not flowed to her usual standards, she defied a sweltering Sydney day while overcome effects of the flu with 65 off 46 balls to put Heat on course against Sixers. “I plonked myself in the ice bath and was a bit nervous towards the end, I couldn’t really watch,” Mooney said. The following season she was at it again, anchoring a bigger chase against Adelaide Strikers with 56 off 45 balls.Thunder win in the bubbleSomehow, the 2020 WBBL season was completed despite Covid. Played entirely in Sydney, it was not an edition remembered too fondly by a number of players with all the squads housed in a hotel bubble at the Olympic Park amid tight restrictions. But, as with much in that Australian season, it was a remarkable show of adaptability and resilience. It also concluded with a memorable result in the final where Thunder, who had produced a stunning turnaround in the semi-final against Heat, toppled Stars – one of the standout teams of the competition – by seven wickets having restricted them to just 86. Shabnim Ismail, who claimed the key wicket of Lanning, and Sammy-Jo Johnson combined to take 4 for 23 from eight overs.Broken bat? No worries for Grace Harris•Getty ImagesGarth’s powerplay masterclassAgainst Thunder in 2021, pace bowler Kim Garth produced one of the more remarkable performances seen in T20s. In the powerplay, she produced figures of 3-3-0-3 to put Stars on course to defend a low total. Garth removed Tahlia Wilson and Phoebe Litchfield in her first over, and then produced another maiden over to Smriti Mandhana. At the start of her third, she had Corinne Hall taken at slip before closing the spell with five more dots. By the time she returned for the 20th over, Stars had breathing space with 25 to defend.Harris’ broken bat”Stuff it, I’ll still hit it.” It has gone down as an immortal phrase from Grace Harris. Preparing to face up to Piepa Clearly, Harris noticed her bat handle was broken. But instead of waiting for a new one, she just got on with it. Harris launched the ball over long-on for a 72-metre six, the handle snapping away from the blade in the process to produce an iconic image that went viral. It was part of another astonishing WBBL display from Harris, who piled up a tournament-high 136 off 59 deliveries with a record 11 sixes. “When you get in the zone, you just get in the zone,” she said modestly.

أبدى البرتغالي جورجي جيسوس، المدير الفني لنادي الهلال، احترامه لأداء فريق ضمك، بعدما فرض التعادل على الزعيم بنتيجة 2-2 في اللقاء الذي جمعهما مساء السبت ضمن منافسات الجولة التاسعة عشر من الدوري السعودي للمحترفين.

اعترف جيسوس بأن مواجهة ضمك لم تكن سهلة، مشيرًا إلى أن الفريق المنافس يمتلك مهاجمين أصحاب سرعات عالية، مما منحهم القدرة على الوصول إلى مرمى الهلال واستغلال الفرص.

وقال جيسوس في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة “الرياضية” عقب المباراة: “لعبنا مباراة جيدة، لكن النتيجة لم تكن كذلك بالنسبة لنا، من الصعب على أي فريق إيقاف مهاجمي ضمك بسبب سرعتهم، وهذا ما ساعدهم في الحصول على نقطة التعادل”.

طالع أيضًا | ريليفو: الأندية السعودية ستغير شكل كرة القدم العالمية في الصيف.. وعروض خيالية تهدد عمالقة أوروبا

تحدث المدرب البرتغالي عن تأثير إهدار ركلة الجزاء التي سددها روبن نيفيز في الدقيقة 59، قائلاً: “بعد ضياعها، فقد الفريق توازنه نوعًا ما، لكن لا ننسى أن ضمك فريق جيد، وسبق له الفوز على الاتحاد”.

واصل مدرب الهلال الثناء على منافسه، مؤكدًا أن ضمك استحق الخروج بنتيجة إيجابية بسبب أدائه القوي خلال المباراة، واستغلاله الجيد للفرص المتاحة.

واختتم حديثه: “ضمك قدم أداءً كبيرًا ويستحق الثناء، حاولنا تحقيق الفوز لكن الحظ لم يكن بجانبنا”.

بهذه النتيجة، رفع الهلال رصيده إلى 47 نقطة في المركز الثاني بجدول ترتيب الدوري السعودي، بفارق نقطتين خلف المتصدر الاتحاد الذي يمتلك 49 نقطة، بينما رفع ضمك رصيده إلى 23 نقطة في المركز الحادي عشر.

Eddie Howe didn’t rip things up ahead of Newcastle United’s crunch Premier League clash against Manchester City, but instead opted for smaller tweaks to arrest the slide in form that had cast an air of frustration across Tyneside.

Hope reigned across the November international break that the Toon would undergo a systematic reset, with three defeats from four leaving the club down in the bottom half. But Howe got it right, and Pep Guardiola was sent packing with none of the spoils.

With Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, ostensibly the Magpies’ two most talented wide forwards, out of sorts, it was crucial that Howe saw some other attacking stars step up.

Newcastle's evolving frontline

When Newcastle sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record fee, it was a poignant moment. But Newcastle have evolved, and Nick Woltemade has proved by this stage his potential to be a star in the Premier League.

Theoretically, the 23-year-old German’s technical quality on the ball and his willingness to roam, dropping deep and aiding the pacy wingers either side of him, should give rise to Gordon and Elanga’s qualities, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Harvey Barnes is thriving, though. The prolific left winger scored twice to sink City, and that’s three in two Premier League matches for him.

Then, of course, Jacob Murphy continues to add flair and industriousness down the right flank. This is important, given Elanga’s own woes. Murphy, 30, worked so hard against his tide of the opposition, and he still managed to showcase his creativity, creating three chances and completing four of six attempted crosses, as per Sofascore.

We haven’t even mentioned Yoane Wissa, who was involved in Saturday’s celebrations but remains sidelined after joining from Brentford this summer. The DR Congo striker will add a new dimension to Howe’s frontline and offer a more traditional take than Woltemade, an interesting counterpoint.

These are all influential forwards, but it might be that Newcastle are developing another more influential member of their squad. This player offers shades of Erling Haaland, and yet he’s anything but a striker.

Newcastle's own version of Haaland

Haaland is one of the best players in the world, and, at Manchester City, his influence is unmatched.

Newcastle might not have anyone in their side who comes close to the Norwegian in terms of attacking output, but Malick Thiaw is beginning to single-handedly define his side’s defensive strength, and in this, he could curiously become United’s own version of the free-scoring machine.

Newcastle completed a £35m move for Thiaw in August, reinforcing a backline that was crying out for some extra depth last season.

Hailed as an “absolute steal” of a signing by one United content creator, who lauded Thiaw’s “Saliba-esque” presence in central defence, this is a defender who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, and this was underscored and then some upon keeping Haaland at bay on Saturday.

Haaland failed to score, but his physicality and the scare factor that comes into play when he’s involved were both negated by the Germany international, whose willingness to go one-on-one and engage with crisp and combative challenges emphasise the level of player Newcastle have reeled in. One podcast host actually marvelled at the display and said, “he might be the Premier League’s next elite centre-back.”

Mentality is just as important as technical mastery, and luckily, the £75k-per-week Thiaw offers both elements in bucketloads.

Sofascore record that he made seven clearances and six ball recoveries against City, timing a last-man challenge just right.

Moreover, Thiaw is already sitting pretty across some intriguing statistical metrics. In the Premier League this season, for example, the 24-year-old ranks among the top 15% of centre-backs for interceptions, the top 13% for blocks, the top 9% for ball recoveries, the top 15% for progressive passes and the top 9% for progressive carries per 90 (data provided by FBref).

Couple that with his remarkable success rate in the duel, both in the Premier League and out on the continent this season, and you begin to see why so many Newcastle supporters are boarding the hype train at this early stage of his English career.

Matches (starts)

9 (8)

4 (3)

Goals

0

0

Assists

0

0

Touches*

52.7

57.0

Accurate passes*

35.1 (86%)

43.8 (91%)

Recoveries*

4.1

4.8

Tackles + interceptions*

2.4

1.8

Clearances*

5.0

3.3

Ground duels*

1.4 (68%)

1.5 (55%)

Aerial duels*

3.1 (72%)

3.3 (76%)

Errors made

0

0

Error-free, confident on the ball and commanding in defensive phases, Thiaw is a “monster” of a centre-half, in the words of journalist Martino Puccio, and he’s only going to keep getting better as he settles into his role on Tyneside.

Given the current struggles of Sven Botman – who started from the bench at St. James’ Park at the weekend – and the ageing legs of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar – Newcastle’s new central defender may well far outstrip his positional competition and enter a league of his own.

In this way, he could emulate Haaland’s own matchless presence at the Etihad Stadium and establish himself as a one-of-a-kind talent on Tyneside, becoming not just one of the best players in Newcastle’s first team but a figure to be feared across the entire continent, just as Haaland is right now.

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da supremo： Liverpool are now reportedly rivalling Newcastle United in the race to sign a young midfield star who’s been compared to Dominik Szoboszlai.

Slot: Liverpool don't have "Jacob Murphy profile" to unlock Isak

da cassino： It’s been a tumultuous time for Liverpool and record signing Alexander Isak. The Reds are yet to unlock the Swede’s best form, despite splashing out £125m to break a British record and welcome their next star man from Newcastle in the summer.

Arne Slot, however, is remaining patient and recently pinpointed exactly why Isak is yet to replicate his Newcastle form at Anfield. The Dutchman told reporters: “With Jeremie Frimpong being injured and Conor Bradley being out it is not like we have so many options on the right-hand side, and it is a bit similar on the left.

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“Alex could benefit maybe from a Conor or a Jeremie type of player who goes outside, instead of both wingers we have who come inside and full-backs who can come in with crosses.

“But the main difference for him is that we are facing a low block many times. It is not that it never happened at Newcastle but not as much, I think. This season the league has changed, we see so many more low blocks than last season.

“But I see this not only against us, I see this in many games. It makes it harder for him compared to his time at Newcastle but I think it is also him adjusting to his teammates and his teammates adjusting to him. But it is obvious and clear that we have not the profile of [Newcastle’s] Jacob Murphy, for example, available at this moment at this time.”

Whether Liverpool find their own version of Murphy in the January transfer window is now the big question. They’ve already been linked with Antoine Semenyo, who’d certainly offer the same quality, but he may not be the only one on his way.

Liverpool join race to sign Alex Toth

As reported by Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Alex Toth from Ferencvaros in 2026. The 20-year-old midfielder has been watched closely by scouts across the Premier League, including both those at Anfield and at St James’ Park and now seems destined for a big move.

Dubbed an “aggressive presser” by Hungarian journalist Bence Bocsak, it’s clear to see where the Szoboszlai comparisons have come from.

Liverpool’s press is certainly something that needs addressing in midfield too, which makes Toth a viable option when 2026 arrives. The Reds have got one over on Newcastle before and could yet do so yet again next year.

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